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M10 Batteries....what the hell!


Smudgerer

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Ok I know that one of the prime purposes of the Leica Forum is to rail against the Mother Ship where all our toys came from and where an awful lot of our money disappears into that sink hole..........So, here's my latest grumble coming so soon after my displeasure with Leica's insanely overpriced 35mm Summilux 1.4re-issue in BLACK!

Batteries! Today I received four new batteries, two for my Nikon D810/610 kits and two for my Leica M10's. The Nikon batteries were chipped third party brand new, ( I've used this brand before and got years of use out of them ), the cost of the two was €38,60 Euros with free shipping. The two Leica batteries bought from my usual Leica Store were €165,00 Euros apiece plus €18,00 for two day shipping.......€348,00.......WTF!!!

We used to be able to, still can I think , buy the M8/9 batteries from third party suppliers, I can't remember if you could do the same with M240 /262 batteries but Leica obviously closed that loophole with their battery supplier, ( Varta? ), so that no third party batteries could be offered............There has to be a number of lawyers in these forums, so is this legal? I am sure there's a market out there for other battery suppliers for the M10 and other more recent Leica models like the Q and the SL's but I guess Leica has found a way to shut them out.

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That's definitely worth getting excited about. I haven't found an alternative battery manufacturer yet either. So I also had to bite the bullet when I ordered a second battery for my M10. There is a name for it: locked in. It's like the Gilettes razors. Only the expensive blades from Gilettes fit on them.

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4 hours ago, 01maciel said:

I haven't found an alternative battery manufacturer yet either. 

And you won't, ever. Leica is a luxury brand now, so not a lot of tears spilt over people buying expensive cameras and then also having to spend a few more $ on a battery. But what is truly concerning is future proofing, esp with reports of customers receiving new batteries with 0% charge and never coming back to life. To me, that's the real issue. 

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18 minutes ago, overexposed said:

i bought a m10p reporter, sealed, last year, it was sitting on a shelf for years, the battery inside was dead and wouldnt let me charge it.

leica service was MORE than forthcoming to replace the battery.

Oh, I'm not doubting that. But what about in twenty years time? Will it be, sorry all of our stock is dead or no longer produced? Hoping that's not the case, but good to at least consider the worst case scenario...

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1 hour ago, 01maciel said:

Don't worry, after 10 years at the latest, all electronic devices, whether cameras, laptops or smartphones, are e-waste 🗑️

 

Hmmm, tell my Naim amp from the late seventies that.. but of course it's repairable, as long as there's somebody who can do it and caps and tantalums are available, which is the main issue with more and more modern electronics being unrepairable as it miniaturizes. My M9 is going on fifteen years soon and it works fine as well, though the batteries don't hold a charge like they used to. I think 'all' is a bit broad. 

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44 minutes ago, charlesphoto99 said:

I think 'all' is a bit broad. 

Yes, but I wouldn't have expectations of electronic goods lasting more than 10 years in general. There will be lots of exceptions, but count those as lucky.

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10 hours ago, Smudgerer said:

The two Leica batteries bought from my usual Leica Store were €165,00 Euros apiece plus €18,00 for two day shipping.......€348,00.......WTF!!!

just be glad you can still get the batteries. id be more worried if leica ever stops...

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3 hours ago, 01maciel said:

Don't worry, after 10 years at the latest, all electronic devices, whether cameras, laptops or smartphones, are e-waste 🗑️

 

Wait so M8 from 2006 is trash already? I have never sold a piece of waste for 1000 euros before... And M9 from 2009 also, even M240 from 2013...

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I am super annoyed that there is no proper CHARGER for these batteries when travelling. The original charger is bulky and made to be stationed at home. The super unreliable and mocked Nitecore ULM10 Pro Dual USB Charger is the only third party BP-SCL5 option AFAIK.

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1 hour ago, TomB_tx said:

Yes, but I wouldn't have expectations of electronic goods lasting more than 10 years in general. There will be lots of exceptions, but count those as lucky.

If they are well made they should last for a very long time, if not forever. The USAF is still flying B-52's made in the 1950/60's after all, and I would assume much of the electronics in those are original, and not just 'lucky'. It's not helpful to speak in such absolutes. 

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Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, charlesphoto99 said:

Hmmm, tell my Naim amp from the late seventies that.. but of course it's repairable, as long as there's somebody who can do it and caps and tantalums are available, which is the main issue with more and more modern electronics being unrepairable as it miniaturizes. My M9 is going on fifteen years soon and it works fine as well, though the batteries don't hold a charge like they used to. I think 'all' is a bit broad. 

I’m celebrating 40 yrs of continuous use with my twice re-capped Naims (32.5 HC 250 )and have recently added a Naim 555-PS to my Naim nDAC and Naim Core.

Salisbury knows how to build electronics, maybe Leica should outsource to Naim Audio 😜

Edited by dugby
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5 hours ago, 01maciel said:

Don't worry, after 10 years at the latest, all electronic devices, whether cameras, laptops or smartphones, are e-waste 🗑️

 

I still use digital cameras from 20 years ago. Magically they still function as the did when new.

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On 3/27/2024 at 4:58 PM, dugby said:

I’m celebrating 40 yrs of continuous use with my twice re-capped Naims (32.5 HC 250 )and have recently added a Naim 555-PS to my Naim nDAC and Naim Core.

Salisbury knows how to build electronics, maybe Leica should outsource to Naim Audio 😜

I've got a NAP 160 bolt down I bought for $450 a few years back. Once I got a new cord for it (with the bulgin connector) it sounds fantastic. Appears to have had a non-Naim recap at some point. DAC V1 for the preamp. 

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Am 28.3.2024 um 01:01 schrieb jdlaing:

I still use digital cameras from 20 years ago. Magically they still function as the did when new.

That was the time when the Nikon D70 appeared with 6.1MP. Today, every smartphone has a better dynamic range and image quality than the D70. Using it is more of a nostalgic affair than a necessity. By the way, you can still buy batteries for the Nikon D70 today for a mere 12€ =~12$. This is probably the reason why it still works today. So this has nothing to do with magic, but rather with the supply of spare parts.

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On 3/28/2024 at 12:43 AM, PeterGA said:

Leica DMR users arent so lucky ...

There are people who can rebuild DMR batteries if/when they die. The batteries that is, not the technicians offering a posthumous battery service.

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